There’s a Central Asian tradition pre-dating the spread of Islam to the region which entails filling a triangular fabric pouch with soil from a child’s birthplace, and leaving it with the child for protection until they become an adult. The custom was born when Tengriism, a polytheistic Turkic mythological belief system characterised by an adherence to shamanism and animism, was prevalent.
“After the Islamic Khanate established rule in the region in the 10th century, the tradition became to enclose protective Quranic verses in the pouch instead. It’s called a tumar,” says 26-year-old Kazakh artist Daria Nurtaza, who goes by Kokonja. At the Centre for Heritage and Textile Arts (Chat) at The Mills, Hong Kong, Nurtaza wore a leather variation of the traditional amulet that she has had since childhood. She was in the city in March to showcase an artwork in Clouds, Power, Ornament—Roving Central Asia, the first exhibition on Central Asian textile art in the Greater China region, running until May 21.
Nurtaza and her friend and collaborator, 22-year-old artist Medina Bazargali, created the installation (2023) for the show. Essentially a yurt created from felt, the work sits in the centre of the exhibition, connecting the themes it seeks to explore. The exhibition is a collection of installations, videos, sculptures, robes and
